ASCMC Weekly Beat: Final Semester Meeting and Funding Requests

The 10th ASCMC Executive Board meeting began with an “exciting change of events,” to quote ASCMC President Nicky Blumm ’17. Unable to swipe up to the third floor of Kravis, the Board instead gathered in a circle in the Cube and launched into member updates. Campus Organizations Chair Jessica Winssinger ’19 shared that she had met with Dean of Students Sharon Basso to discuss different models on how best to improve funding for affinity groups.

Presidential Advisor Alejandra Vazquez Baur ’17 attended the Circle of Change Leadership Conference with Sophomore Class President Edgar Warnholtz ’19. The two-day conference consisted of meeting students involved in leadership roles at their respective schools. “We met so many amazing people and some incredible motivational speakers who we are possibly trying to bring to CMC to speak,” said Baur.

Junior Class President Joey Yamada ’18 revealed the preliminary numbers behind Monte Carlo and was met with much applause when sharing the total of $6,000—$7,000 made in profits from the night.

Vice President Felipe Afanador ’18 shared the variety of responses received from the ASCMC survey. 45% said they were very satisfied whereas 35% were somewhat satisfied with ASCMC Executive Board members. He also mentioned that one more Senate meeting would be devoted to discussing changes to the room draw process.

Freshman Class President Bryan Carlen ’20 reported that the freshman Christmas party hosted by the cabinet members was a success. He noted that “even though we spent more than we should on decorations, we do have a snow machine if anybody wants to use that.”

Presidential Advisor Elaine Sohng ’17 shared news that the Career Services Center is looking to create smaller workshops every month that focus on different aspects of professional life.  The first few are planned to focus on women in the workplace, including sexual harassment in the recruiting process and female workers in male-dominated professions.

The mood visibly lightened when Senior Class President Cole Mora ’17 mentioned the email he planned to forward to the student body later that night, warning them about the Senior Thesis Celebratory Fountain Party. The splash zone in front of the Hub will be in full-swing from 3–4pm to celebrate seniors having finally submitted their theses.

President Nicky Blumm ’17 then elaborated on attempting to get towels in Roberts Pavilion. “It is more likely to happen than before,” he said, “although ASCMC might need to make the capital investment in the towels.” He also shared his experience at Title IX meetings with members from all 7Cs. The meeting discussed sexual assault policy and stressed the importance of making the sexual assault reporting processes more unified across all the campuses.

Executive Secretary Sami Malas ’19, Presidential Advisor Tyler Finn ’17, and President Nicky Blumm shared that they had discussed how to improve alcohol policy and culture with Dean of Students Sharon Basso. “I’m excited for the next meeting,” said Presidential Advisor Tyler Finn, “I think some of our ideas can really help us reach our goal of creating an overall safer campus environment.”

Next, the executive members addressed the two pending funding requests. First, a student representing Casemas, the annual Christmas party hosted by Harvey Mudd College, asked for $450 for kegs and alcohol. Much to the representative’s surprise, President Blumm clarified that ASCMC can only fund alcohol out of their profits. It was soon decided that ASCMC would instead fund the non-alcoholic beverages, cups, and decorations for $450.

The next funding request came from two representatives from the Claremont Contra club. They asked for $250 in funding for the “biggest dance event we will host all year.” The club expects around 120-150 people and plans on having a well-known band in the contra community perform. ASCMC executives debated whether funding the event would provide a new, unique, party to attend, or, whether whether to fund it at all, since the club doesn’t have any CMC members. Ultimately, the Board voted to approve $200 of the $250 request.

Next, the group discussed revisions to the budget list and additions to the revenue stream. President Blumm quickly ran through all the changes in the budget and addressed any potential confusion. After a few clarifying questions, the revised budget was passed and will be brought to Senate in the coming weeks.

Lastly, Presidential Advisor Alejandra Vazquez Baur ’17 presented news from the International Student Forum, a space for international students to talk about their respective concerns and experiences at CMC. She highlighted the role ASCMC can play in reaching out to potentially marginalized voices on campus.

There was also talk of setting up an international student hosted party in North Quad in the spring. “International events are often branded as specifically for the international community,” explained Events Commissioner Amiya Narula ’19, “This could be a nice way to bridge the gap between domestic student parties and international student ones.”

Nicky Blumm apologized for the lengthy meeting and ended with a quick mention of the Secret Santa planned for next week. The meeting concluded at 8:30 pm and the Cube was quickly rearranged to its original setup.